RNA-seq of human adipose tissue macrophage subtypes in obesity

We profiled three prominent ATM subtypes from human visceral omental adipose tissue in obesity by RNA-seq. In the related manuscript, we evaluated differences in their signatures and their relationship to type 2 diabetes: Visceral (VAT) and subcutaneous (SAT) adipose tissue samples were collected from diabetic and non-diabetic obese subjects to evaluate cellular content and gene expression. VAT CD206+CD11c− ATMs were increased in diabetic subjects, scavenger receptor-rich with low intracellular lipids, secreted proinflammatory cytokines, and diverged significantly from two CD11c+ ATM subtypes, which were lipid-laden, lipid antigen presenting, and overlapped with monocyte signatures. Furthermore, diabetic VAT was enriched for CD206+CD11c− ATM and inflammatory signatures, scavenger receptors, and MHC II antigen presentation genes. VAT immunostaining found CD206+CD11c⁻ ATMs concentrated in vascularized lymphoid clusters adjacent to CD206⁻CD11c+ ATMs, while CD206+CD11c+ were distributed between adipocytes. Our results suggest ATM subtype-specific profiles that uniquely contribute to the phenotypic variation in obesity. RNA-sequencing was performed on 9 sorted human ATM subtype samples from 3 subjects. Each subject contributed one replicate of three ATM subtypes based on expression of surface markers CD206 and CD11c.